Darling West… New Music News

We first introduced you to the husband and wife fronted Norwegian country/americana band Darling West earlier this year after their stunning performance at Oslo’s Americana Weekend (https://www.bellesandgals.com/2019/02/03/spotlight-on-darling-west/) .Well since then they have been extremely busy, not only touring but also writing and recording for their third album “We’ll Never Know Unless We Try”, set for release on Jansen Records on February 7th 2020. With their 2016 debut album “Vinyl and a Heartache” winning the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy (a Spellemann) it will be interesting to hear what this talented band come up with this time. The tracks were written in both Nashville and while on tour throughout the US and Europe, and are described as being a mix of “top-down-wind-in-the-hair pop songs along with tear-jerker ballads”. The album’s lead single “Can’t Help It” which was released last Friday gives us a taste of what is in store, Mari taking lead vocals and the band’s gorgeous harmonies featuring strongly on this mid-tempo, slightly etherial track, reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac… and there’s some impressive lead guitar playing too.

The album has been recorded back home in Oslo’s Propeller Studios, with the main band members Mari and Tor Egil saying of the process “After two years of intense touring, and meeting tons of people, we are left with a feeling that there are many good forces at work in the world, even though the state of things can sometimes seem hopeless. Even though it wasn’t a planned theme in the songwriting process, we seem to have been inspired by this, and that hope and encouragement has become a common thread in our lyrical universe this time around.“London will hopefully be given a sneak preview in January, as Darling West have just been announced as part of the impressive lineup for the UK AmericanaFest alongside another equally talented Norwegian, Malin Pettersen.